1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to frequency up-conversion of electromagnetic (EM) signals.
2. Related Art
Modern day communication systems employ components such as transmitters and receivers to transmit information from a source to a destination. To accomplish this transmission, information is imparted on a carrier signal and the carrier signal is then transmitted. Typically, the carrier signal is at a frequency higher than the baseband frequency of the information signal. Typical ways that the information is imparted on the carrier signal are called modulation.
Three widely used modulation schemes include: frequency modulation (FM), where the frequency of the carrier wave changes to reflect the information that has been modulated on the signal; phase modulation (PM), where the phase of the carrier signal changes to reflect the information imparted on it; and amplitude modulation (AM), where the amplitude of the carrier signal changes to reflect the information. Also, these modulation schemes are used in combination with each other (e.g., AM combined with FM and AM combined with PM).